For a few years I've had a Toshiba TiVo RS-TX60; I still have it but after the DVD drive almost prevented me from getting a DVD out of there, I haven't used the DVD features just so I don't have that experience again. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some sort of damage because of the many attempts I made to get the DVD out. I eventually did get it out but I forget now how I did it. The Loading screen got stuck when the dvd was in there.

Okay, well after the DVD disaster, I never used the DVD drive again but I will comment on how useful it was and what issues I had.

It seemed like a heavenly idea; to be able to save shows to DVD rather than VHS tapes! My family got rid of most of the VHS recordable tapes eventually. Strangely enough, we never really saved many shows to DVD, though I was impressed at the speed of the TiVo with saving shows to DVD. You see, when we had VHS tapes we didn't have TiVos; so we never really utilized the DVD feature of the Toshiba device because we could save shows to the TiVo hard-drives (we have 2 TiVos; one is a TiVo Series2 Single Tuner unit), so DVDs weren't really necessary.

I saved some shows I wanted to keep to DVD and used the TiVo to watch DVDs (wow, two options, my DVD/VHS combo and my Toshiba TiVo DVD recorder ).

Now, however, I don't watch DVDs for fear the TiVo will not open its door and the previous disaster I mentioned above might happen again!

I didn't like however the fact that if a show was 2 hours long, if I had chosen to record an extra minute or two to make sure the entire show would be recorded, that that would prevent me from recording to a DVD (I record shows usually at "High Quality" which is one step down from "Best Quality" and allows for 2 hours of programming). Unfortunately, 2 hours of "High Quality" for each DVD is two hours exactly; no extra minutes!

There should have been many more settings; among them the option to cut off a minute on one end or thirty seconds on both ends of the video so it could fit on the DVD. Also, TiVo recordings seemed to take up more space on a DVD than other media would if they were being saved to DVDs. On the one hand, I do think the native conversion TiVo did for their DVD-units was a good idea because it meant the format the programming was in was already ready for DVD pretty much and therefore the burning speed was much faster. However, the codecs used or something, perhaps copy-protection meant programs took up a ridiculous amount of space.

If only Toshiba had continued to make TiVo DVRs with DVD-recording (and Blu-Ray ), they could have really improved the product with better future models, not to mention software updates for the DVD-capable DVRs that would enhance the burning experience.

Unfortunately, the DVD-recorders with TiVo seemed to disappear as fast as they came with Toshiba's newer models having DVR and DVD burning together but without TiVo.

Perhaps the market wasn't large enough - people didn't buy enough of the units? Or there was some pressure from studios? Or both, as well as other issues I haven't brought up.

But I think it's a shame these products were abandoned so early. Sure, people can (with mixed success it appears from what I've read on the forums) burn shows to DVD using their computer. But this requires a program to be transferred to a computer first which takes forever! However, the Toshiba TiVos and other companies who made similar devices made the process much simpler.

I did buy the Toshiba TiVo because it seemed to me based on reviews that this was the best device to buy. However, I'm not on any side anymore in terms of which is a better device (eg. Toshiba vs. Humax vs. Pioneer) because it has been several years since I bought it and like I've mentioned above, I can't use the DVD features anyway.

Now, I can hardly wait to buy another new device because the newer features such as Amazon Video On Demand and TiVo's Universal Swivel Search which includes that among everything else are so slow on my device. I realize that as new devices are made by TiVo, usually they have faster and better CPUs, and the slowness is so distracting!

Well, now I'm starting a topic that should be in a new thread. I just thought I'd share my experience with everyone else.

I still feel bittersweet of what "could have been" in regards to better TiVo/DVD-recording hardware and software updates as well as Blu-Ray support had companies continued to make the devices.

Oh well, maybe someone will see some potential and DVD/Blu-Ray burning capable TiVo devices will be made.
Who knows?

RS-TX60 - How to switch back to using tuner after Recording from Camcorder

I know this is a newbie question, but until last night I'd never used the "Record from Camcorder" feature.
I successfully recorded 20 minutes from a camcorder using front inputs S-video and component audio. When it was finished, I expected it to switch back to using the tuner for normal TiVo operation, but pressing the "watch live TV" button on the remote or the same function on TiVo menu, shows a blank screen with a "no signal" message. I have to do a Restart to get back using the tuner normally. Is doing a Restart the only way to switch back to the tuner?

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Re: RS-TX60 - How to switch back to using tuner after Recording from Camcorder

Using TiVo Plus.

The eaxct message is "Searching for signal on Line in. " Then refers to "Messages and Settings/Troubleshooting" for more. Which the closest to my situation says to reset the channel lineup.
So I tried resetting my channel lineup, and it did use tuner input for the screen that confirm my line up, but that forces the 20 minute "Get Program Info" session. Live TV was still getting it's signal from Front Input which I confirmed by playing the still-connected camcorder.

Last edited by fortt3; 10-19-2008 at 10:55 AM.
Reason: Clarification and more detail.

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Hi all, I think my RS-TX20 has bit the dust. Got home from being out of town to find it "powering up" then to the welcome screen loop. Stays in the loop and doesn't do anything else

I was wondering if anyone had the Toshiba-Tivo image I could have use,buy...? I'd be able to copy the drive if I had the image.

Anyone know if I can copy the image from the drive with the Tivo in this shape?

Thanks,
Mark

First I would try some or all of the kickstart procedures detailed in this forum, a couple pages back. If you can get it running again, I would then copy the drive over to a new DB35 PATA / EIDE drive...

Hello, I did leave the unit unplugged overnight and tried again the next day. No dice, I couldn't get it to kickstart 54 either this time, or the last 6 times I tried. Just stuck in the loop with the newly added GSOD. Must be dead???

Also, with the DVD units, you have to make sure that there is no DVD in the drive when it restarts. I've had a couple of mine get "stuck" on the power up screen. When you remove the DVD from the drive, it started right up. But it sounds like you have gotten past the point where it tries to boot from the disc in the DVD drive.

Good luck,
robomeister

P.S. I could send you an image, but I'm on a trip now and away from my configuration machine.

Pleeze help with RS-TX20. I had taken out the HDD and reformatted it before I realize what I had done. Need image file if you can. I have read most of your post and thought you to be very knowledgeable in the TIVO field. (I wasn't trying to suck up when I said that).

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Just recently my Tivo stopped booting all the way. It says "Almost there" or something like that. I figure it must be time to upgrade the HD.

A couple Q's:
What is the HD type? Is it PATA or SATA?
Is there anything special about uprading the Toshiba that is different than standard Tivo Series 2? I've upgraded 3 Tivo's so far but that was a couple years ago.

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Thanks. I'm planning 750GB or 1TB. From the hinsdale how-to I recall a comment about limited RAM and processor speed affecting navigation when when large drives got full. Anyone installed a big drive on these and lived to tell about it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by windracer

Nope! If it's been a while since you did an upgrade (i.e., you used a Linux boot disk and mfstools) you might want to check out WinMFS.

Thanks for the pointer. I have a spare Linux box in a closet that was hoping to get a chance to prove its worth but this looks easier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by azitnay

But is there a chance there's a DVD stuck in the DVD drive? That has caused bootup issues for some people.

Thanks -- I read this forum and tried the suggestions: turn off overnight and get DVD out. Although when I startup I can't get the DVD bay to open, I don't think this is the problem as I've not used the DVD player for awhile even when it was working.

Thanks -- I read this forum and tried the suggestions: turn off overnight and get DVD out. Although when I startup I can't get the DVD bay to open, I don't think this is the problem as I've not used the DVD player for awhile even when it was working.

If you crack the case and are thus able to get to the front of the DVD drive, you should also find a pinhole you can stick a paperclip or something similar into that will manually open the tray.

It served me well the past few years, but it was time to part ways with my TX20. With three other operational (subscribed) TiVos in the house, the Toshiba has been sitting in a closet unused for the past few months. Rather than have it continue to gather dust, I decided to "donate" it to my parents as an early Christmas gift.

My mom was thrilled. It's going to replace/combine their old VCR (which they STILL use to record TV! ) and DVD player with a single box. They're OTA only and don't really need the extra features of the Plus subscription so hopefully this box will serve them well for a while. Maybe it'll end up converting them to the TiVo Way(tm) so when they finally do go digital and HD, they'll purchase their own. I sold my old 140 box to my little sister a few years ago and she's hooked, so I'm slowly working on the rest of the family.

I'm sure I'll still be popping up in this thread from time to time, though, if you'll have me.

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We have two functional RS-TX20 units and I just bought a third for my mom (used). Unfortunately, I got a bum unit. I had to replace the hard drive and the DVD player doesn't work (can't get it to open and close properly, even after taking it apart). So now I have two hard drives that aren't in full working order (I had to replace another one of mine last year). I'm looking to trade those two hard drive units for a working DVD unit. Does anybody have a broken unit they are parting out? I suspect the hard drives can be repaired, but I don't know how to do it. Thanks.

My Toshiba rs-tx20 was locked in an endless rebooting. Third time this has happened, hard drive replaced each time by toshiba at my expense. This time I ordered the Hard Drive myself (seagate st31602-15a). How do I download the tivo os for this drive? Help I am a novice.

But...at http://mfslive.org/winmfs/ I read: Restore Tivo Drive
Use this option to restore the image you created with backup. It will not restore mfstools backup file. As a matter of fact, backup format is totally different. You will get a "hardware failure" error if you restore the backed up image and install the drive to another TiVo.
(italics added).

Is that referring to exactly what I'm doing? If so then how would someone get a new drive working if their original wasn't working? I have not yet tried my new drive out in my Tivo (actually my Dad's Tivo 20miles away).

Answering my question above -- It works! I successfully upgraded to 500GB without any problems. Here's the rest of the story for those who follow.

(flopmister, read the previous post and this one. In abt 3hrs you can upgrade your box)

- I opened the Tivo (TX60) and removed the 160GB harddrive. Very easy with small torx bit.
- installed the WD 500GB in its place. Restarted box.
- Booting took 10mins, sitting at the "Almost there...just a few more minutes" screen. This is where the old drive hung so I thought I had failed and left the room, but when I returned it was done.
- Message: Error #51 existed which said I should call some number.
- Ran "Clear and Delete Everything" from the Settings menu. Took 65mins (!)
- Rebooted. 10mins.
- Ran Guided setup -- everything works fine. Shows "up to 609hrs"

Dear fellow RS-TX users,
I know this may sound like a broken record after reading through prior posts, but would ANYONE be able to send me an image for RS-TX20? After 4 years of enjoying my tivo, the hard drive died. I carefully followed all of the great ideas you all posted and interesting tricks (kickstarting, unplugging) but nothing worked so I purchased an instantcake image. Unfortunately, the image I bought was for the wrong tivo system. I am new to computers and am trying to learn just enough to be able to fix my tivo and don't have the money right now to do a full upgrade. Would someone please send me a RS-TX20 image if they have one saved somewhere? The PVR site I bought instantcake from is giving me a hard time and I really do not want to give them more money when they are not being sympathetic to my mistake. I guess the correct image I need should end with a -565 ?

Hey everyone,
Major issues with my unit and came across this page trying to find an answer as to what has happened. I have an rs-tx 20 dvd recorder and have never had a problem. About two weeks ago I came home and the picture was frozen. I unplugged the power cord and rebooted the unit. When it started booting back up, the picture was all frazzled. It was scrolling diagonally and blurry and unable to be clearly viewed what was on the screen. Even once it finished booting up(after I heard the tivo them when it's booting up), it was still not viewable. There was no color and the picture wasn't visible. I've trying changing the av cables and still no luck. I let it sit for a bit hoping it would fix itself. It recorded the programs that were scheduled to record that night, although I can't view them because the video is all messed up. Ultimately the unit continues to keep freezing and even when rebooted it does the same thing. I called toshiba and tivo support and they said they could fix it if I shipped it to them along with $140, which doesn't sound appealing consider I spent close to a grand when I bought the unit to get it all setup. Can someone help me?? I've had this tivo for 4 years and never had any problems until now and don't want to have to resort to get a comcast dvr but don't know if I'm gonna have any choice. Thanks for any possible help anyone may provide...

First time poster here. Lot of good info here also. I have a Tx-20 and love it, altho it is quite big, but its great for the bedroom. Anyway if someone could tell me what the difference is between extreme and high quality on record is, that would be great. I want to record some stuff on to dvd but since I record everything on the highest setting it wont fit a 1 hour show on the dvd. Or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks

Also I noticed that there is a standard dvd burner drive in the unit, at least it looks like it. Can this be replaced with a dual layer recorder? Was thinking it might work.

First time poster here. Lot of good info here also. I have a Tx-20 and love it, altho it is quite big, but its great for the bedroom. Anyway if someone could tell me what the difference is between extreme and high quality on record is, that would be great. I want to record some stuff on to dvd but since I record everything on the highest setting it wont fit a 1 hour show on the dvd. Or am I doing something wrong?

The higher the quality a program is recorded in, the better it will look during playback... But of course, it also takes up more room, both on the TiVo's hard drive and on a DVD. I believe the various recording qualities allow for up to 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours to be saved to a single DVD, respectively. So, a 1-hour extreme quality recording should fit on a DVD, but a 1:01 recording (as some networks do nowadays) probably wouldn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by newfie4ever

Also I noticed that there is a standard dvd burner drive in the unit, at least it looks like it. Can this be replaced with a dual layer recorder? Was thinking it might work.

Actually, if memory serves I believe the drive itself is dual-layer, and accepts both + and - media... However, the TiVo software itself restricts to single-layer and - media. So, probably nothing you can do about that.

Thanks for the quick reply. I am going to try a few things out with the burning as I have never used it for that. Guess I will have to use high quality to record with if I wish to burn it on a dvd.

Ok I am burning a 1 hour ( 1hour exactly) show no problem right now. Is there anyway to stop the 1 hour 1 minute shows at 1 hour exactly so I can record those if I wish? I mean the last minute is just the credits anyway so you are not missing anything.